Public tours of Lake George water and sewer facilities planned

Lake George  Officials of the village of Lake George will hold an open house event at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 17 at their water filtration plant and wastewater treatment plant.

Tours will begin at the water plant on Ottawa St. in the village beginning at 10:30 a.m. and afterward will be conducted at the wastewater plant on Birch Avenue. Village workers will be present until noon to answer questions about treatment methods.

The Village’s state-of-art water treatment plant was constructed in 1999 and was active beginning in 2000. Built at a cost of $3 million, the plant was financed with a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Waters Act.

The village’s water is pumped from the lake off Beach Road and transported to the plant for treatment and distribution through the system that includes portions of the Town of Lake George. Over 1,400 consumers are connected to the system that is entirely metered and includes two large storage tanks. Dave Harrington serves as the village’s certified water plant operator.

The Village wastewater plant, located off Prospect Mountain Highway, is supervised by Tim Shudt. Built in the 1940’s, the original plant has been upgraded several times in recent years.

The plant, unlike most facilities of its kind, discharges treated effluent onto 27 sand beds scattered over 40 acres. All sewage is collected and pumped to the plant from a series of pump stations in the village and the town’s Caldwell Sewer District.

The treatment facilities are very complex and sophisticated and will be explained in detail to all who attend, Mayor Bob Blais said this week. Coffee and refreshments will be available at the beginning of the tour.

“This will be an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in seeing the internal operations of a municipal system, first hand,” Blais said.